"Do they really have moon rocks here?" Kaitlin Eames asked.
"They sure do, Kit-Kat," Alex Eames replies, smiling down at her 7 year-old niece as they walked to the Hayden Planetarium.
Alex Eames has been having a great day. She picked up her niece early this morning for a special "girl's day out" that she had promised Kaitlin. It's been a ritual for them since Kaitlin turned 2. It didn't hurt that it gave Alex's sister, Colleen a break for a full 24 hours, enough time to indulge in some quality time with her husband, Jay.
Each time the day started the same with a big breakfast at Charlie's Diner, which boasted the best blueberry pancakes around. Kaitlin would experiment each week with a different syrup, declaring strawberry the "bestest ever" and boysenberry "totally icky." Regardless of her syrup choice, Alex always found herself cleaning off Kaitlin's sticky hands and face at the end of every breakfast.
Alex had been looking forward to the Planetarium, as it would be the first time Bobby agreed to tag along on one of their trips. Alex couldn't decide if he agreed to come because he wanted to spend time with her or the fact that the Planetarium had just opened after 2 years renovations.
Renovation. Definitely.
As they approached the steps to the museum, Alex's grasp of Kaitlin's hand loosened as the young girl flew up the steps into the waiting arms of one large, smiling Detective.
"Hey Unca Bobby!" Kaitlin yelled as she wraps her small arms around Bobby's legs.
"Hello Miss Kaitlin, my how lovely you look today," Bobby said as he twirls her around in a circle with his hands.
And the Goren charm strikes again. It doesn't matter if the lady is eight or eighty, we all fall to it eventually, Alex thinks with a smile.
"Hey Eames."
"Hi, Bobby. Have you been waiting long for us?"
"No, I just got here actually. Besides, I would have to be a fool to not wait around for the two most beautiful girls in the world," he teases as he magically produces a quarter from behind Kaitlin's ear.
"How do you do that?" Kaitlin screeches with a loud giggle.
Alex laughs at the two of them playing. They seem to go through this questioning every time as Bobby always performs one magic act during his visit with Kaitlin.
"Magic, Kit-Kat. One day I'll tell you all of my secrets," Bobby promises as he pretends to steal her nose.
"So, are you guys ready for some stargazing?" Alex asks.
"YEAH, Aunt Lexie, I want to see the big snipper."
Alex laughs, "You mean the big dipper?"
"Yeah, that's it. When dad took us camping this summer he pointed out the big dipper and I want to be able to find it myself too," Kaitlin says.
"Ok, I think we can handle that. You ready, Bobby?"
"Let's go, ladies. Now, Kaitlin, the big dipper is a group of stars in the constellation called Ursa Major which is.."
"Ursa who?" Kaitlin grouses.
Oh, boy, it's gonna be one of those days, Alex muses.
If Alex wasn't sure before, she was absolutely positive now. Her 7 year-old niece was officially in love with Bobby Goren.
Geez, it must be something in the family genes.
At every possible opportunity, Kaitlin managed to get Bobby to carry her around in his big strong arms. Bobby seems to be just as enamored of Kaitlin, as Alex hasn't remembered a time that she has seen her partner smile and laugh as much as today.
As Bobby tried to explain how to find the big dipper, Alex recalls the first time Kaitlin and Bobby met. Colleen had brought her down to the 1PP for lunch one day when Kaitlin just turned four. She was dressed in the frilliest pink dress Alex had ever seen with the tiniest white ruffle socks with Mary Janes' gracing her small feet. Kaitlin's dirty blond hair was in curls pushed back with a white headband.
Bobby was in the copy room when they arrived, so when he returned he was awfully surprised to find Kaitlin in all her girly splendor sitting in his chair, spinning around and around.
"Who do we have here?" Bobby asks.
As Kaitlin swirled to a stop, her big brown eyes looked into Bobby's.
It was love at first sight for both of them.